One of the landmarks we went to on our first day of seeing Helsinki was the National Church of Finland. Finland as part of Sweden for much of its history embraced the Protestant Reformation. The National Church, or Cathedral of Helsinki is a Lutheran church.
The Cathedral sits up on a hill in a large square surrounded by government buildings.
I loved the stars on the domes.
Here's one of the building it faces.
The statue of Alexander II of Russia is prominent in the square.
It's a popular tourist spot and the woman on the left is volunteering to take a photo of all of us with my brother's camera.
Inside the cathedral, we would later realize, the decor was understated.
The organist was practicing so we paused to listen.
On Sunday we returned to this cathedral for the service in Finnish. My sister in law had to tell us what the sermon was about.
More of Helsinki and other European cities to come in future posts.
